Something Unpredictable
by secretfunnelcake
Summary: You know, the things that are relevant. He will always remember the simple things, like Kevin’s favorite instrument playing animal and Joe's tendency to mumble in his sleep and just how sparkly Macy’s eyes happen to be. JONAS man. JONAS.
1. Fortuitous

_Don't worry, I'm aware I SHOULD be updating my story Hello Heartache, but I just...I tried. Seriously! My fingers just wouldn't cooperate. This just came out unintentionally. I'm aware that the dates are wierd and everything (i didn't even mention Nick's birthday but eh.), I'm only human. It's messy and short and raw but just read, enjoy, review. Sorry if you clicked on this thinking it would relate to Hello Heartache. Anyways..._

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All The Small Things

1.

**September 19**

There was only a few things Nick was absolutely positive about at this point in time, and that was really the scariest thing about the whole situation, because he's the one that's three points short of being a genius and well, if he doesn't get it who does? But as he lays there hidden underneath a bed next to a teddy bear with one eye and a vanilla candle that looks like it's been thrown around a time or two, he mentally composes a list of things that he is sure about. (You know, the ones that are relevant. He will always remember the simple things, like Kevin's favorite animal and just how sparkly Macy's eyes happen to be.)

Obviously, Joe's opinion could never be counted on again. Ever. (He'd love to blame absolutely everything on his older brother, but even Frankie would know that's impossible. Hell, Kevin probably even knew that much.) Second, Macy was nothing like the obsessed fan that she had been only weeks ago.

Third, she _had_ to have gotten all of her physical dominance from her father, because from this angle his ankles looked positively beastly. (A side note: stop using Joe's terms to describe things that will probably end up ending your life.)

Also, after the last few weeks, chocolate covered strawberries had become his absolute favorite food of all time. (Unless this situation ends with him never being able to think of Macy without suffering from an extreme amount of pain in the upper left part of his chest where his heart lurks, in which case he will need to set up an appointment because it will no longer be an organ that he will need/want.)

Lastly, karma was an absolute bitch. (Enough said.)

2.

**Nine weeks, three jobs, and one and half breakdowns ago:**

If he was being honest with himself, he'd probably admit it started with the pink lemonade. But then, if he looked at from a larger perspective (and this was likely; because he's the deep, astute one and he cares so much sometimes that it hurts.), then he could conclude that it all started with Stella. Something happened that day Joe spilled milk on himself and Stella Malone refused to laugh. Because some people believe in destiny and that day of the fateful chocolate milk incident introduced the Lucas' to one fashion savvy blonde, and their life was altered in more ways than one. (Because not only does Nick appreciate the fact that his pants are both fitted and awesome, but he is grateful for Stella and introductions and big brown eyes and innocent giggles.)

But anyways, it's a pleasantly warm Saturday morning in July and they're at the park. ("They" being the baffling amount of eight year olds currently occupying the coveted picnic tables in the shade.) It's Stella's little brother's birthday party and the whole Lucas family was invited, and although the first ten minutes turned into a miniature autograph session, Malcolm took it relatively well. (It probably had something to do with the fact that he got a head start on opening his presents, without anyone's knowledge or his parents' consent.)

To him the sunshine feels cool on his skin and the wind tracing his shape feels almost warm and everything just feels backwards in a cozy sort of way. (He's aware that observation made absolutely no sense; it's just that kind of day.) He's standing alone next to a table laden high with food, half of it looking sugary enough to induce a coma and half of it the majority of the color is green, and just take a guess which side of the table is almost empty? He's standing on the sideline of all the excitement, sipping a plastic cup of sugar free pink lemonade.

His eyes are zeroed in on the swing set in the distance, but he's actually contemplating foods and senses in general, and how certain things remind him of past experiences and moments and people. (Like how gummy worms never fail to remind him of Frankie and how the smell of brownies remind him of the Valentine's Day party in fourth grade.)

So he's standing and thinking and remembering and ignoring. (There's a nearby group of teen girls giggling and trying to seduce him with his eyes. Honestly, he's a bit surprised Joe hasn't made his way over there yet. Then he notices his two older brothers thirty feet over going up and down and up and down on the alligator teeter totter and it's just so irrevocably _**Joe&Kevin**_ that for a moment he can't even find the energy to role his eyes.)

He's composing songs in his head about older brothers and surprising responsibility and memories that for a moment he doesn't even recognize the girl that has approached him. But then he does and the only thing that he can think is _wow sunshine looks good on her. _It's Macy, obsessive Macy, obsessive Macy with just a hint or maybe a lot of crazy but also a whole lot of adorable-ness. Her.

And she's standing there in her red sundress and Converse with her curly hair looking a bit messy, and she looks slightly out of breath as she clutches her baseball bat. He can't help but feel apprehensive with sports equipment in her hands because he hasn't forgotten her awkwardness or her talent for injuring her obsession, i.e. the Lucas Brothers.

"Hello Nick. Fancy meeting you here." She jokingly greets him and her eyes sparkle and he feels a bit lost because um **what?!**

"Hi Macy." He answers cautiously. "How are you?" His eyes shift to the bat for a moment or two.

"I'm good. And don't worry about me knocking you unconscious or anything silly like that because over the summer I've worked on my breathing exercises and I took down MOST of my JONAS posters and I like to think I'm not as crazy as I used to be. I mean, it's not like I've been playing baseball with a bunch of eight year olds and then trying to work up my courage to come say hi from over there next to the monkey bars or anything like that." She lets loose with a few hysterical giggles.

He can't help but smile, because honestly? He's missed this.

"Well that's good." He gives her a small smile and she returns his with a grin so big it's heartbreakingly beautiful.

He offers her a cup of pink lemonade and she accepts gratefully, chugging half of it in about seven seconds while he looks on with amusement painted on his face.

The next few moments are filled with a comfortable silence as they observe the playground around them. Kevin is now being chased in circles by what looks like every single child in the area and Joe is chatting up the nearby ladies while Stella looks on, her facial expressions changing rapidly between disappointment, anger, disgust, betrayal, and finally satisfaction as Joe abandons the crowd of adoring girls in order to walk over to Stella and ask for another cupcake.

"Pink lemonade always reminds me of winter."

She's broken the silence, but that's not why he's now looking at her with one eyebrow raised in confusion.

She reddens in embarrassment. "I, I know that's weird, but I got sick one winter and I refused to drink the orange juice my mom made me so my aunt brought me some pink lemonade." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "That was also the day I learned you should never drink lemonade without checking for bugs first 'cause flies like it because it's so sweet."

He nods slowly in a daze, not because of her memory (Although, yeah that's a bit weird.) but more because he was just thinking about things like this; small observations that he recalls day to day just because of a certain memory.

"Do you do that often?" He asks.

"Go off on random errant tangents of thought that never fail to crash embarrassingly at my feet?" She asks cheerfully enough.

He chuckles. "No, do you associate memories with a certain sense, and then stumble upon them randomly?"

She appears to think about it. "I guess I do, but I never really think about it. It's just something I've always done. You know, like…chocolate covered strawberries!" She points at one on the table before picking it up and popping it in her mouth.

He grins at her crookedly. "What do they make you remember?"

Before beginning she finishes chewing and licks her lips free of chocolate (which is more sensual to Nick then it should be, really.) "When I was in the second grade, I had watched a movie where two people kissed and then I had a dream that I kissed this boy in my class, Colton Folk. It happened underneath the monkey bars and he tasted just like a chocolate covered strawberry…" She trails off with a happy grin and a faraway look in her eye before shaking away her distractedness. "Anyways, the next day I marched him underneath those monkey bars and planted one on him. Instead, he tasted like peanut butter and banana sandwiches." She smiles once more and then it's him getting distracted, by the sparkles in her eyes.

"Were you disappointed?"

"No." She shakes her head slowly and thoughtfully. "I really wasn't. I think because-"

"Macy! It's time to go." A man is calling from nearby, and he's extremely tall and stocky and dangerous looking. He points at his watch and gestures towards the parking lot.

She nods to her father to show she understands before turning back to him. "It was great talking to you Nick. I'll see you at school soon?"

And then he's nodding and before he knows it, he's stepping towards her with his arms out as if to hug her, and then he's holding a dazed looking Macy in his arms. "Bye." He steps back, grinning and taking note of her redness before she runs off looking a bit unsettled.

He turns away from her retreating figure and watches as Kevin climbs atop the slide that looks like a spaceship so as to escape from the mob of screaming children below him. He lifts his cup of lemonade as if to take a drink, but stops suddenly as he remembers something. He studies the pink liquid and, wouldn't you know it, there's a fly swimming in circles.

He allows a small grin before spilling the cup to let the drink splash down on the grass below. He tilts his head back to allow the sun to wash over his features and thinks about sundresses, and beginnings, and big brown eyes.

3.

**Ten hours and several arguments later**

He knows something's wrong with him when he steals Stella's phone at two in the morning. It sounds more difficult than it actually is, because Stella ended up spending the night because she refused to be involved with Malcolm's insanely huge sleepover. (In typical Stella fashion, she had convinced Frankie to allow her to sleep in his bed for a night, and he in turn had stolen Joe's bed. Joe was now sleeping in the bunk above Kevin's bed, who complained because he claimed that anyone sleeping above him would interrupt the flow of his dreams. Nick, surprisingly, hadn't been affected at all, unless you count getting a headache from keeping Joe and Kevin from strangling each other.)

Anyways, he had gotten the phone and locked himself in the bathroom to protect himself from the rage of Stella if she happened to wake up and notice her most prized possession taken.

He carefully scrolled through her enormous contact list before reaching the M's. He took a deep breath before pressing the call button and holding up the phone in anticipation.

It isn't until he hears the second ring that the full reality of the situation hits him in the face. Couldn't he have called earlier, say before 2 am? (He's positive it couldn't have waited until morning; sleep was evading, and he was positive it was because he had a question and no answer.) He's Nick, and he likes logic and answers and-

"Stella?" Macy's voice is groggy and full of sleep, and for some reason all he wants to do is sing her lullaby to guide her back to sleep. (How crazy is that?)

"Actually…" His voice breaks slightly and he has to clear his throat before continuing. "It's uh, Nick actually."

"…" He almost drowns in the awkward silence.

"Macy? You there?"

"Nick? Are you okay? Is Stella okay?" Her voice is rushed and panicked and it almost sounds as if she's running around trying to get dressed. "Oh god. She strangled Joe didn't she? I knew she'd take it too far…"

"What? No." He can't help but sound amused. "Everyone's okay. I'm really sorry to bother you I just…I couldn't…"

"Nick, whatever it is, it's alright. You can call me whenever you need me even if it's eleven at night." Her voice is warm and comforting.

"Or…or two in the morning?" He asks nervously.

"2 am?! Whoa…yeah no, it's fine Nick. But why was it that you called?"

"I um…why weren't you disappointed?"

This silence is even longer and he's surprised by the intensity of the pain he feels because of his assumption that she forgot their earlier conversation. _He _had thought they had an intimate connection there in the park…

"Oh Nick." Affection rings in this short statement and he involuntarily shivers at the way she says his name. "Chocolate covered strawberries remind me of bravery and new experiences and beginnings."

He remembers the sunshine from earlier and thinking about beginnings and the coincidence strikes him as odd. "Beginnings?"

"Yes. After that Colton was my best friend until eighth grade." Her voice sounds slightly hollow by the end of this sentence, and he decides not to question why.

"Oh." He hears her yawn. "I'll let you get back to sleep now. Can I…um Maybe I'll err…call you tomorrow?"

"That'd make me happy." And it sounds like the simple fact that he asked made her happy, which in turn makes him happy.

"Night Macy." He says huskily and he hears a quiet sigh before she answers.

"Goodnight Nick. Sleep tight okay?"

She hangs up before he can wish her the same. And he falls asleep there in the bathroom, forgetting about Stella's phone, and the inevitable violent wake up he'll receive tomorrow. His dreams are filled with the sounds of sighs and strawberries and the possibility that maybe this is the beginning of something spectacular.

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I don't know about you but I liked it. lol. The lemonade part and most of the strawberry part were true. Btw, on my last story I got a bunch of alerts but like no reviews. Yeah that's like, a compliment in itself, but I'd really appreciate reviews. So click that box and leave constructive criticism and no flames and I'll update faster. Seriously dude, it's like...inspiration.


	2. Inevitable

**That's right gents, she strikes twice in one day. First off, I'd like to say thank you to everyone that reviewed, you have NO idea how much I appreciated everything that was said. I love you all. ;) Also, this is still fairly short but I just couldn't NOT post it tonight. Too adorable. I would also like to mention that I'm a beta now. WOOHOO! So please, PLEASE someone ask me to betaread for them. :( I wanna be used! ...Yeah anyways, enjoy, be patient, and REVIEW for gods sake. **

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1.

**A few weird dreams and six hours later:**

He's not surprised to wake up the next morning to see his brothers watching him from the doorway with sympathy on their faces and Stella standing above him, brandishing a hairdryer like it's a sword. And he's not ecstatic about his mother's special raspberry waffles, like he would be on any other Sunday. And then when he catches Joe digging through his sock drawer? He just shakes his head in annoyance and walks out of the room. (And now it's obvious to everyone that something is different.)

He can tell his brothers and Stella are concerned with how he's acting, because yes, he's the quiet one but today he's taking it to a whole new level. He doesn't want to explain that a late night conversation he had with a friend (Is she even considered a friend? Is acquaintance more of an accurate term for Macy?) has made him thoughtful and so when he's not questioned he feels relieved.

He spends most of the morning laying in bed and throwing a baseball up and down and up and down, just wishing that things were as simple as playing catch. And then he's thinking about Macy and friendships and forgiveness and wondering if second chances can be given even if they weren't asked for.

He sits up suddenly and walks over to where Joe is fixing his hair in the mirror. "Joe?"

"What's up little brother?" He hasn't looked away from his reflection, despite the fact his hair is laying there all flat and perfect and _not curly_. (Seriously, Joe needs to learn how accept his genetics as they are.)

"Um…" He hesitates, because honestly? Joe's probably going to make this hell. "What do you think about Macy?"

Joe shrugs casually. "She's pretty hot. I mean, if brunettes that can kick your ass at any sport are your type."

He rolls his eyes. Only Joe. "No, I meant as a person. As a…friend."

"Oh. Yeah, she's pretty cool. Sometimes when I hang over at Stella's she shows up and we talk or whatever. She's not good at helping Stella with her hair. I mean this one time she-"

"Wait." He doesn't even bother to apologize for interrupting a story he knows is going to turn out to have no point, or at least one that he'll care about. "You've hung out with Macy, and you didn't mention it to _me or Kevin?_"

"Should I have?" And now he's being eyed suspiciously. "Why do you care? You don't care that her and Kevin IM a lot." Joe picks up a bottle of straightening gel and squeezes some of it on his hands.

His eyes widen. "What?! Her and Kevin are like…IM pals?!" He's not sure why he's so frustrated, but it is starting to bother him.

Joe nods slowly as he runs sticky goo through his dark locks. "I coulda swore we've had this discussion before…" He turns to his little brother. "Why do you care again?"

Nick throws his hands up in the air. "We talked yesterday, and I just feel sorta guilty for not getting to know her, because when she's not injuring me she's pretty cool. And I just…I thought it was all three of us that avoid her, not just me." He adds dejectedly. "I mean, next I'll be hearing that her and Frankie are like best buddies."

"Actually, they go to the park together a lot. Y'know, when we're doing interviews or recording or whatever."

Nick lets out a groan of frustration as he stalks out of the room.

He sits on the staircase and tries to think logically about the whole situation. (But it isn't a situation, as much as a one sided misunderstanding. But if it _were_ a situation, which it's not, then he'd be concerned. Just a bit.) Obviously Macy was normal enough to befriend everyone in his family except for him without his knowledge. That was mostly because his brothers were idiots and he had just taken to avoiding her without trying.

Alright. So most situations have solutions, unless you're Kevin and you want to buy a giraffe, but anyways he needed a plan of action. He couldn't deny that he had a connection with the pint sized dark haired girl, both at the park and on the phone. Call him crazy, but he wanted to try a friendship out. Maybe she could be his own Stella, except without the clothing obsession and the unresolved sexual tension. (Nick Lucas have feelings for Macy Misa? If that were to happen then pigs would fly, and if Kevin got wind of that logic…they'd all be screwed.)

He was mostly worried about scaring Macy back into her psychotic stalker self. (Insert shiver here.) Because he's a normal human being that has a working self preservation. In other words, he didn't want to be beaten to a bloody pulp completely by accident. (Not to mention the fact that she could be kind of creepy. He would never ever, _ever_ be able to forget the only basketball game he had attended last year, and seeing Macy's date look like his mirror image.)

Would a text send her over the edge? Surely Macy, well, a Macy who seemed more normal and had been working on breathing exercise, could handle a text from a Lucas brother.

And thinking back on the conversation from yesterday, he knew that this potential friendship was worth the risk.

2.

**Five texts, one secret escape, and forty-five minutes later:**

Nick didn't want anything in the world more than a camera at that moment; it would've been a perfect picture. Macy was sitting on the curb, holding a red Popsicle between her hands as she stared at her Converse. It was adorable and he couldn't help the smile the spread across his face.

"Macy! Hey!" He called out to her, causing her to jump slightly. He laughed as her enthusiastic wave sprinkled drops of melted Popsicle on a couple walking behind her.

She skipped over to him and spit out her tongue. He raised an eyebrow. "Err…?"

"Ish it wed?" She tried to ask, her tongue still sticking out of her mouth. He laughed once again before nodding.

"Yay!" She smiled excitedly. "I would've brought you one but well…Y'know how that stubborn sun is." She shot a look towards the sky that was filled with disapproval.

"Yeah he's a real trouble maker."

She smiled at him warmly before gesturing towards the nearby playground. "Fancy swinging a bit?"

He nodded and she bounded off ahead of him skipping slightly. He stared at the ground, which was sprinkled with drops of red and he committed this moment to memory; cherry popsicles, and skipping, and the inconceivable innocence of someone who was the same age as him.

"Nick, come on!" She called to him from the distance and for a split second he felt upset that she could be so close and yet so far, but he shook his head and pulled himself away from his intense reverie and walked towards her.

He sat on the swing next to her and without even trying they began to swing together, totally in sync. She let her head fall back as she laughed and he was reminded of Christmas bells and the sound of a jump rope hitting the concrete. "Macy, do you like this?"

"I love to swing Nick. Don't you?"

"No I meant, do you like being around me?" He has to ask because this is him, he is Nick, and he presents a serious, deep air with everything he does. And it would be impossible for him to let things settle where they should, he needs to clarify and decide and rearrange until the whole puzzle fits together like it's supposed to.

"I do, Nick. Don't you?"

"I wanna something Macy. A friendship. You can be my Stella and I can be your Joe, but at the same time it will be something totally different and special on its own, because copying something will take the importance away from it. And you can make me laugh, and I can try to make you think like I do, but then I'll realize that you already do and I'll always be reminded of our first actual conversation that I can't seem to get out of my head because it's so meaningful to me." As soon as he realizes he's rambling he shuts his mouth and blushes and turns away.

(And that thought lurking in the back of his mind, the one saying that what makes him different from his brothers is going to be what ruins this chance? Yeah, he pretends that it's not actually there.)

"You absolutely amaze me." And the honesty in her words cause him to blink and look at her in a daze. "You're so different from everyone I've ever known, and while some people would try to make that seem like a bad thing…I know better. Everything you say makes me see you in a whole new light." She giggles. "So, yes Nicholas Lucas. I want to try to have a friendship with you. You'll be my Joe and I'll be your Stella." She wrinkles her nose. "But I'm not telling you what to wear.

He laughs and smiles at her warmly before announcing, "You'll be my Macy and I'll be your Nick, and in the end we'll realize that we're a perfect fit." The lyrical tone to his last statement make him pause for a moment, and then he thinks it sounds like he's committing to something more than a friendship and he glances at her to see if she's been scared away.

But no, she's still there swinging right next to him as she says,"Yep. A perfect fit."

And nothing more is said as they listen to the creak of the swings and the rush of the wind in their ears as they pretend to become a part of the sky.

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**And that was all she wrote...for now. ;)**


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